'Thin home' sells for $1.35M in Vancouver's Point Grey

One of Vancouver's rare 'thin homes' sold last week for $1.35 million, but don't expect to see more of them popping up to solve the city's housing crunch, according to one real estate agent.

The split-level home on West 15th Avenue in Point Grey is only 3.6 metres wide (12 feet) and has a floor space of about 945 square feet.

But it still manages to contain a master bedroom, kitchen, living room, den, one and a half bathrooms and garage, all on four different levels and fitted out with luxury finishes and landscaping.

The Point Grey home, which was built in 1987, is one of roughly 60 in Vancouver that were built on half-sized lots.

Realtor Ken Wyder says while he's never sold one, he's been in a few, and they have a certain charm.

"What are they like? Thin!" says Wyder. "I think that's it. They're cute. It's like a dollhouse feel to them," he said.

"It's narrow living. Narrower than you would typically see perhaps in a condo or townhome or half duplex."

Could thin homes solve the housing crunch?

They may be narrow, but could thin homes provide a solution to Vancouver's housing affordability crisis?

Wyder thinks not at all.

"Quite the opposite, because they eat up more land than say a triplex or a duplex or a town home assembly," he notes.

He notes a similar sized town home would cost half a million dollars less, and could still come with its own yard.

"You're spending a lot to get simply detached."